


Knee Deep

by wormghost



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alternate Ending, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, decisions made under pressure come back to bite you in the ass, mentions of winry/paninya
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-18
Updated: 2015-11-30
Packaged: 2018-05-02 05:53:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5236802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wormghost/pseuds/wormghost
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Ling offers Ed his philosopher's stone as the toll to bring Al's body back, Ed accepts out of desperation, and does something he promised he would never do.</p>
<p>Two and a half months later, the effects of that decision are becoming increasingly obvious when Ling and Co. show up unannounced in Resembool.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Equivalency

**Author's Note:**

> THis is my first ever really long fic and i'm really excited. I hope you like it!

Edward Elric is no stranger to feeling helpless. It’s nothing new at this point, something he’s dealt with a million times, powered through a million times.

This is different.

A ring of people stands amid the wreckage of Central headquarters, watching, whispering. In Ed’s mind, every single one of them is stock-still and perfectly silent. It’s almost as if the whole world is holding its breath.

Al’s armor lies in pieces in the center of the ring, arms outstretched like bird wings. The blood seal that Ed had drawn onto the armor so many years ago, the thing that had kept Al in this body, is exposed now by the gaping empty space where the armor’s chest had once been. Ed can barely bring himself to look at it. Seeing his brother- or what had once been his brother, he thinks, his chest tightening- all blown to bits is almost more than he can handle. He kneels on the ground beside the armor, eyes wide and head swimming. His heart beats too fast and then all too slow.

No, this is definitely different. Ed has never felt more helpless in his life.

Across from him, May is crying, repeating “I’m sorry”s over and over again. He wants to say something to her, because he knows that she thinks she’s responsible for this. It’s true that she had helped Al in transmuting himself as the toll for Ed’s arm, but that had been Al’s plan, not hers. Ed doesn’t have to have been there to know that.

“It’s not your fault,” Ed manages robotically. His voice sounds like it’s coming through a tin can from somewhere outside of his body, “It was Al’s choice.”

Whether or not his words register with her, she continues crying.

“Ed!” Ling’s voice brings his focus partially back to reality and he turns around to see Ling holding a bottle of something red in his hand, “We have something you can pay the toll with!”

Ling is holding out the bottle, light catching on the class and the shining red philosopher’s stone inside of it. He looks ragged and tired just like everyone else, but with an air of intensity that few people share. Behind him, Lan Fan wears a similar expression, watching the scene intently.

Ed’s first instinct is to shake his head “No,” but for some reason his body won’t cooperate with what his brain knows it should do.

“I have a philosopher’s stone,” Ling continues, “Use this to bring Al back.”

“No,” Ed starts, gritting his teeth, “I can’t. I promised Al that I-”

He stops himself, though, suddenly torn. He has two options: Either keep his promise to Al that they would never use a philosopher’s stone to get their bodies back, or see his little brother again.

_There’s another way_ , a little voice in the back of his mind taunts, _You know there is._

 

_I’m not doing that. I’m not leaving Al alone like that_ , he thinks, clenching his fists and grinding his teeth together. No matter what, He won’t use himself as the toll. Ed knows loneliness, has felt the despair of having no one left. He’d give up his arm all over again if it meant Al wouldn’t have to go through that.

And he’d give up just about anything to not have to go through it again. He just wants his brother back, for all of this to be over finally.

Frustration and grief build up in his chest, pooling in a spot right above his stomach like a lead weight. He brings his fist down hard on the ground, knuckles scraping the stone. Then, steeling his nerves, he makes up his mind.

"You sure you want to do this, Ling?” He asks, looking up at the tiny vial of red liquid in Ling’s hand.

“Take it,” Ling says, “You need this to get him back, so take it.”

There’s an edge in his voice, like he’s not entirely convinced of what he’s doing, but his eyes are determined and unwavering.

Ed nods, and before he can change his mind, reaches up and takes the vial.

“Thank you,” He says, standing up and looking for anything that he can use to draw the transmutation circle.

About 10 feet away, what looks like a narrow steel pipe is lying on the ground in a pile of rubble. Ed goes to pick it up, saying nothing. All eyes are on him, and he can almost feel the collective gaze of the crown on his skin. He picks up the pipe, and before he begins scratching the circle onto the ground, he stops and walks over to Al’s old body, looking down at the trashed suit of armor at his feet.

“I’m sorry,” He says, even though he knows that Al can’t hear him, “I don’t know what else to do.”

Then, louder, for everyone to hear:

“I’ll be right back!”

* * *

“So, you’ve come for your brother?”

The resonating, smug voice of The Truth greets Ed, and he sees its blank form seated before him on the ground.

“Do you have a toll, Edward Elric?”

“It’s right here,” Ed says, holding up Ling’s philosopher’s stone for The Truth to see.

It chuckles, amused. It’s perpetual grin grows wider, more mocking than ever.

“A philosopher’s stone? I thought you were opposed to using them. Are you really willing to use all those souls as the toll for your brother’s body?”

He looks down at the vial in his hand. His reflection in the glass is tiny and distorted, and it’s almost hard for him to believe that inside that bottle are human souls, crying out in endless suffering.

“I have nothing else to give you,” Ed says, staring down the spot where he assumes eyes would be if the Truth had eyes, “And besides, the souls in that stone are ready to be set free.”

The Truth chuckles again.

“You’re really convinced of this? Well, no matter.”

No, Ed  _isn't_ convinced of what he's saying. He feels terrible for using the stone, for breaking his promise to Al, for using human souls for his own purposes, and for taking Ling's stone despite the fact that he won't get it back. But right now, all that matters is that he gets to see is brother again, and if he can just keep his doubts from overpowering him, everything will turn out just fine. At least, he hopes so.

The vial begins to materialize, pulled away by the Truth’s snakelike arms.

“Take him home!” The Truth says in a voice that Ed can't decide is genuinely happy or mockingly enthusiastic. It’s now holding the bottle, grinning with all of its teeth exposed.

When Ed turns around, another gate is looming behind him, and he recalls what he saw when he jumped through the portal to get out of Gluttony’s stomach.

So if there’s a second gateway, then that has to mean-

Ed scans his eyes down the gateway. When he gets to nearly the bottom, he stops, completely and totally relieved. Al is there. He has a body. An incredibly thin and scarily malnourished one, yes, but he’s there and alive.

Edward Elric has never felt so relieved in his life.


	2. Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the events of the Promised Day, Ling begins to realize the effects of his choices and makes some promises he may or may not be able to keep.  
> (Slight warning for some description of a dead body at the beginning. It's not super graphic but just to be safe.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter this time. It's pretty much just modified versions of canon scenes, so some of the dialogue is original but some of it is either directly from the manga or just slightly tweaked so it would flow better. i promise that this'll be the last chapter like that.

Ling Yao is seated on a piece of stone that had probably been a column of some sort once, Fu’s body laid out in front of him on a stretcher. The battleground of Central headquarters is becoming a makeshift hospital, doctors attending to the wounds of survivors and other survivors attending to the corpses of the ones who weren’t so lucky. There hadn’t really been a calm after the storm, just a transfer of energy from fighting to restoration and assistance. Ling counts himself lucky in terms of his physical condition. Aside from a few minor scrapes and bruises he hadn’t suffered any lasting injuries. Greed’s shield and regenerative abilities had made sure of that up until the very end.

The atmosphere is mostly businesslike and no-nonsense. There are people who need saving, bodies that need moving. Despite that, though, there’s a sense of victory hanging in the air, buzzing like static.

Ling, however, is quite literally staring his own failure in the face.

At least, he’s staring at a white sheet covering Fu’s body, looking down at where he knows Fu’s face is. Ling is grateful for the sheet, silently thanking whoever thought to cover up the bodies. He doesn’t want to look at all the blood, or the stab wound, or the gashes. It’s almost more than Ling can stomach to just know that they’re there, deep and red and hidden under that sheet.

Ling had failed the old man. Fu had died thinking he was giving his life for the future emperor, but without a philosopher’s stone there’s no way Ling will be able to win enough favor to be chosen as the successor.

“I’m sorry,” He says quietly, to a man who can’t hear him.

Ling senses someone coming towards him, a familiar presence.

“My prince,” Lan Fan’s voice behind him identifies the presence. He turns to face her, swinging his legs over the side of the piece of rubble he’s seated on. She really is in bad shape, even if she’s trying to hide it. Her automail arm is in a splint, so at the very least she’d gotten medical attention. She bows to him, and he almost wishes she wouldn’t because it’s clearly not an easy task.

“I have a request to ask of you,” She continues, “If you become emperor, please do not punish the rival families.”

She braces for his answer, eyebrows knit.

“Sure thing,” He says, and her face transforms into an expression of surprise.

“You agreed so quickly!”

“I know what you’re trying to say. I get it,” He says, “But you know I don’t have a stone anymore, right?”

Lan Fan seems to deflate, eyes going to her grandfather’s body.

“You should go back to Xing,” Ling suggests, “Go home where you can give him a proper burial.”

She looks back to him, trying to parse what he means.

“You’re going home, too, aren’t you?” She asks, already knowing the answer.

“I have no intention of going home empty-handed,” Ling says, his voice coming out robotically, “I couldn’t face my clan if I did, but you’ve already sacrificed enough. I’ll continue my search here with May as long as I can, and you can take your grandfather back to Xing.”

“You have no intention of going home empty handed” Lan Fan says, voice threatening to break, “And I have no intention of abandoning you here. My grandfather gave his life because he believed in you. If I were to give up on you now, I’d only be letting his death be in vain.”

For what feels like a full minute, Ling can only stare at her. She’d already lost her arm and her grandfather for the sake of a doomed search, and she’s still willing to follow someone who had not one, but two philosopher’s stones within his reach and lost both of them.

“Forgive me for-” She starts to bow again, misinterpreting Ling’s silence as anger.

“Thank you, Lan Fan,” He interrupts her, “And I’m sorry I couldn’t save him.”

She stops mid-bow, looking once again to the body lying before her, eyes softening. She shakes her head slightly, but says nothing.

She steps over the rubble and kneels down beside the old man’s body to say a last goodbye to her grandfather, to tell him that they’re going home- not yet, but they will. It sounds like a promise.

 _People from Xing always keep our promises_ , Ling thinks to himself, _Let’s hope we can keep this one._

* * *

They find May, finally not crying but still hovering around Alphonse. She’s sitting on the ground next to where Al is propped up against a piece of rubble. She’s still bloodied up and her leg is obviously hurting her, but otherwise, she looks fine.

A small crowd of Ed and Al’s friends is lingering close to the brothers, giving hugs and congratulations. Ling had wanted to say something to them earlier, but he couldn’t figure out what he’d say. He considers going up to them right now, but thinks better of himself. At the moment, there’s another task at hand.

“Hey, Chang girl,” Ling calls to May, and she turns her head so fast Ling is afraid she’ll end up hitting Al in the face with her hair.

“Listen,” He says, “I know I can’t really go around saying stuff like this when I’ve now lost two entire philosopher’s stones, but if I still intend to become emperor.”

Her expression immediately turns to one of childish anger, her cheeks puffing up so that she reminds Ling a little of an angry frog. Tears well up in her eyes again, and she opens her mouth to yell at him, but he interrupts before she can even get a sound out.

“Don’t worry though, the Yao family will take full responsibility for the safety of your clan.”

She looks at him, eyes widening, speechless.

“I accepted a homunculus as a friend, didn’t I? I think I can accept the Chang clan. And all the other clans, too.”

Now, May really is crying again, tears streaming down her cheeks, still puffed up like a frog.

“What’s with the face?”

“That’s so greedy!,” May manages, sniffling like a little kid, “You don’t even have a philosopher’s stone! You can’t just go around making promises like that!”

Greedy. Huh.

“Guess he really did rub off on me,” Ling says, “Listen, I still need to find the secret to immortality, so why don’t you come with us? You’re still looking too, right? If we’re together, we’ll be a lot safer. Promise Lan Fan and I won’t try to kill you in your sleep or anything.”

May stares up at him dumbfounded for a long time, tears cutting through the blood and dirt on her cheeks, leaving streaks down her face. She nods, sniffing and wiping her face with her sleeve.

“Okay.”

“Good,” Ling says, and without warning he picks her up under his arm while she kicks her uninjured leg in protest.

“What are you doing?!” She demands indignantly.

“Your leg is hurt, isn’t it?” He asks, and then continues without waiting for an answer, “You shouldn’t walk on it too much.”

“Where are you taking me?!” She flails her uninjured leg around and lands a square kick to ling’s thigh.

“Ow! I’m trying to help you,” He says, dodging another kick, “We need to find a place to stay tonight, don’t we?”

“Hang on,” Ed cuts in, forcing his way into the conversation, “Where are you even planning to go from here?”

Ling considers this for a minute. In truth, he really has no idea what he’s looking for now. Another philosopher’s stone would be a good place to start, but he doubts it will be easy or even possible to find one now.

“Well, from here we should probably get out of Central before things start settling down again,” He says, “We are still illegal immigrants after all.”

Ed gives him a look as if to say “Don’t sound so proud of yourself.”

Ed raises a fist, extending it towards Ling, who returns the gesture, their hands bumping together.

“Good luck,” He says, smiling.

“So I guess this is goodbye,” Ling says, looking at Ed and Al, feeling as if this is the last time he’ll see them even though he knows it most likely isn’t.

“For now,” Ed says.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for any typos or weird phrasing. Around the middle of writing this I started falling asleep, and I'll probably go back and fix some minor stuff when i get the time. Sorry just in general for this chapter being not my best work, next time around we have a 2-ish month time skip and the real story will start, so look forward to that.


	3. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three months after the promised day, Ed and Al are back home in Resembool and things almost settle down. Operative word: almost.

_“Investigation into the incidents that occurred in Central City continued today, revealing…”_

A monotone, congested-sounding female reporter reads off the latest news, her voice droning on through the speakers of Pinako’s old portable radio. Today’s report is nearly identical to yesterday’s, which was practically indistinguishable from the one the day before. To Edward Elric, almost none of it is news, and what news there is is barely worth noting. In the past three weeks since his return to Resembool, he’s been blissfully uninvolved in anything to do with the problems of Amestris.

Nearly three months have passed since the Promised Day. Amestris is rebuilding, both physically in Central’s case and figuratively in the case of the Country’s leadership. After the Promised Day and Bradley’s death, things came to somewhat of a standstill. The whole country is going to change, Ed thinks. The Colonel, sight now restored, is back on his path to becoming President. He’s one of the regulars in the news reports these days; there’s almost always something to say about him, even if it’s just a mention of him in passing.

Somewhere in Amestris, Ling, May and Lan Fan are still out there, searching for something to bring back to Xing. Time is still ticking for them, running out day by day. Ed sometimes wonders if the radio would even mention the death of a foreign emperor, if it’s possible that his friends are already too late with no way of knowing. He tries not to think about it too much, but part of him feels partially responsible for the fact that they’re still here while he and Al got to go home.

Life for the Elric brothers is, for the first time in a very long time, pretty uneventful.

Al is still gaining back his strength, slowly but surely recovering from the years his body spent inside the Gate. He seems content at the moment to spend his days in the monotony of day-to-day life at home in Resembool, finally getting to experience things the way he never could when he was just a soul in armor.

Ed, on the other hand, has found himself increasingly bored out of his mind, keeping busy by helping to carry out Pinako’s seemingly endless supply of household chores, pestering Winry while she works, and pretending to listen to the radio.

Currently, Ed is lying on the couch in the living room of the Rockbell house, half-paying attention to the news, half-focusing on flipping through one of Winry’s boring books. Something about energy sources and something called a perpetual motion machine. He’s not really reading it exactly, just picking up on random words and the occasional diagram or illustration.

_“Colonel Roy Mustang announced today that-”_

“For the millionth time, Edward,” Winry’s voice from somewhere nearby accompanied by the clunk of bare feet descending a wooden staircase tears Ed’s attention away from the radio and the book, “Stop turning the radio on while I’m trying to sleep!”

_"...the Ishvalan region..."_

"Ed!"

“Here we go,” Ed mumbles to himself, sitting up and turning the radio off.

He yawns, stretches his arms, and then repositions himself so that he’s kneeling on the seat and facing the area behind the back of the couch.

“If you stop pulling all-nighters and sleeping until noon, we wouldn’t have this problem in the first place,” He shouts back. Winry’s footsteps get closer and closer until finally she comes into view, looking exasperated. She obviously just got out of bed, not even bothering to change out of her pajamas before stomping through the house to berate Ed. Her long hair is loose and tangled and her bangs stick up at an odd angle. She sways a little, as if she isn’t fully awake yet. She is, however, yelling loud enough to wake up anyone else who might be asleep in the area.

“I was working all night! I wasn’t doing it for fun, Ed!”

She wobbles, then steadies herself and shoots Ed the best death glare she can manage in her sleep-addled state.

“What, like you can’t take a break to sleep?” He accuses, shrinking slightly under Winry’s gaze but still holding his ground.

“That’s not the point! The point is that I asked you to turn the radio off while I’m sleeping!”

“It’s freaky how well you can hear this thing,” Ed counters, “It’s not even that loud.”

“Just don’t turn it on when I’m sleeping, Edward,” Winry repeats, no longer yelling but still glaring at him.

“Yeah, whatever. Fine,” Ed says, waving his hands dismissively and slouching down, letting his arms hang loosely over the back of the couch. She nods as if to let him know she won the argument, then yawns and starts stomping off in the direction of the kitchen.

“Where are you going?”

“Breakfast,” She answers shortly, “I’m starved.”

“Pretty sure it’s called lunch at this point,” Ed says, moving from the couch to follow her, “Everyone else already ate hours ago.”

“I just woke up, smartass,” She says while yawning again. She brushes hair out of her face, then pulls it up into a ponytail, securing it with an elastic she was wearing around her wrist. She reaches the kitchen and stops for a few seconds in the door frame. The room is deserted and the lights are turned off. A loaf of bread with a few slices cut from it sits on the counter, probably left there by Pinako knowing that Winry would be hungry when she woke up. She goes to take a slice and then moves to the table on the opposite end of the room, near the wall with the pinboard full of photographs. Ed isn’t hungry, but he has nothing better to do so he sits down at the table with her.

“Where’s Al?” She asks between bites of bread, talking with her mouth full.

“I think he took Den out for a walk,” Ed says, running his fingers over a spot in the wooden table where he’d carved his name with a butter knife when he was 7.

“Oh. Where’s Granny?”

“Out getting groceries. What were you working on all night anyway?”

“A lady two towns over needed some repairs done on a leg.”

“Hm,” Ed nods, “How’s business these days?”

“It’d be a lot better if you would stop bugging me while I’m working,” She says, finishing off the last of her slice of bread, “Speaking of work, I was thinking of going back to Rush Valley for a while.”

This catches Ed’s attention. Winry hadn’t been working in Rush Valley since she left to go up north when he and Al had been up there. That had been months ago, months before the Promised Day even, and the automail business here in the middle of nowhere is a lot slower than it had been in a town that lived and breathed automail. Without a constant influx of arms and legs to make, repair, and upgrade, Winry has taken to tinkering with anything she can get her hands on in her spare time. As much as Ed wants to have her around, it’s pretty obvious she’s eager to go back.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. Mr. Garfiel called the other day. Apparently I’ve been missed,” She smiles slightly, and Ed remembers the call she’d gotten the last time she’d been away from Rush Valley, “It’d be nice to get back to work. And I’d get to see Paninya again.”

“Oh yes, I’m sure you’re _dying_ to see Paninya again,” Ed teases, wiggling his eyebrows and lightly nudging Winry’s bare foot with his shoe.

“Shut up,” She says, kicking him sharply in the shin.

“Ow! What’s your problem?”

“Quit acting like a 12 year old. She’s my girlfriend, Ed, of course I want to see her,” She says. Ed looks smug, and Winry sticks her tongue out at him before changing the subject back to Rush Valley.

“Anyway, I don’t know when I’ll go. Probably not right away. I want to stay here until things settle down, you know? It’d feel weird to leave so soon after you and Al come home.”

Before either of them can say anything else, they hear the sound of the back door opening and the unmistakable jingle of dog tags accompanied by the metallic crashing of Den’s automail leg running through the house.

“I’m back,” Al calls out, sounding slightly winded, “Anyone here?”

“Kitchen,” Winry answers.

Al enters the kitchen holding a leash without a dog on the end. Den  has taken off up the stairs, metal leg making his location clear. Winry gives up her chair so that Al can sit down. He’s just starting to walk without a crutch now, and he’s been taking Den out almost daily so he can get exercise.

“Sleep well, Winry?” He asks, grabbing a slice of bread before sitting down at the table.

“Let’s not get into that,” Ed says, not wanting a repeat of earlier.

“No thanks to this one,” She says, jerking her head in Ed’s direction. Ed snorts indignantly.

“Oh, here we go. If you don’t stay up all night like everyone keeps telling you, the radio wouldn’t bother you so much. And you wouldn’t miss breakfast all the time.”

“Yeah, Yeah,” She says, waving off Ed’s lecturing. Al laughs slightly, watching them bicker.

From upstairs, there’s a noise like something heavy landing on a bed, and all three of them look up, puzzled.

“Weird dog,” Ed says, assuming the noise had just been Den jumping around. Al and Winry both take Ed’s suggestion to be the truth and nod in agreement.

They hear the noise again, and then another time, followed by Den barking and the sound of metal clanging against the floorboards upstairs. Ed, Winry, and Al all look up again, and then at each other. In the seconds that follow, it seems to Ed that they’ve all come to the same conclusion, and none of them are willing to give voice to it: That there is something or someone upstairs besides the dog. For what feels like a full minute, nobody says anything. Ed isn't even sure he breathes. It's Winry who finally musters the courage to do something.

“He better not have broken anything,” She says uneasily, “I’ll go see what he’s up to.”

She stands up straighter and marches out of the kitchen, through the living room, and up the stairs. Ed and Al look at each other, then both stare up at the ceiling, waiting. Winry’s footsteps grow quieter, farther away,

Then, they stop.

Then, she screams.

* * *

“How the _hell_ did you get into my room?!”

Winry is standing in the doorway of her bedroom, fists clenched, looking like she’s ready to pick up the nearest table and launch it at the heads of the three people sitting calmly on her bed. Ed is peering over her shoulder, breathing heavily after sprinting up the stairs, expecting to find her being murdered or something equally horrible. Al’s hand is on Ed’s shoulder, using him as support. He had gotten to Winry’s room last after his foot slipped on the stairs and he’d had to clamber up them all over again. All three of them are staring wide-eyed at the very last people they ever expected to show up in the second floor of their house.

“The window.”

Even in Amestrian-style clothes, even looking considerably more worn-down than Ed is used to seeing him, Ling Yao is instantly recognizable. He sits cross-legged on Winry’s bed, smiling the way most people who have just been caught breaking into someone’s house never do. The toll the last few months have taken show in his dark circles and the patched-up scratches on his face, but he looks virtually the same as he always has. To the left of him, May Chang sits with her feet tucked up under her and her weird panda cat thing sitting on her head. She too looks tired and banged-up, sporting a scrape over one eyebrow and another on her chin. Unlike Ling, May is still wearing the clothes she always wore, although her hair is styled in two simple braids now rather than how it had been styled before. This was more convenient, Ed guessed. To Ling’s right, Lan Fan is crouched like she’s ready to jump and attack anyone who makes a wrong move. For once, her mask is off and her face is fully visible. She’s scratched up and weary-looking just like the others, but she still has the same intense determination in her eyes that she always does. She is, however, obviously in need of repairs. Ed instantly empathizes with the way she keeps stiffly opening and closing her automail hand. Jammed-up fingers are one thing he definitely doesn’t miss.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Ed demands, finally finding his voice, “How did- Wha?”

“Lan Fan’s arm got messed up somehow,” Ling says as if it’s the most sensible thing in the world. Lan fan holds up her arm as if to show them all that yes, it is broken. Ling continues, “I remembered where you live from when we hid out here with Greed and the chimeras. We were going this way anyway, and then her fingers stopped moving right, so we had no choice but to find someone to fix them.”

“You couldn’t use the door?” Ed asks, even though he’s not sure why he bothers asking. Truthfully, he’s not sure Ling knows the exact function of a door considering he can’t remember ever seeing the prince use one.

Ling just shrugs the question off. “This seemed like the best way to go in.”

Winry, who has been growing steadily more visibly unnerved, finally snaps.

_“Get out of my room!”_ She howls, sending everyone in the room including May’s panda and Den, who had been cowering under the bed, into a frenzy as she attempts to physically shove everyone out and slam the door behind them.

“Downstairs,” She orders angrily, pointing downwards, _“Now.”_

Before anyone can make a move, the sound of the front door opening catches everyone including Winry by surprise, making all of them jump.

“I’m home!” Pinako’s voice cuts through the silence, “Anyone here? I need help with these groceries.”

Winry shoots Ed a panicked look. He looks at Al, hoping his brother will have some idea what to do, but to his dismay Al just looks back at him, wide-eyed and confused. Ed looks back at Winry again.

“Stall her,” He whispers harshly, formulating a plan wherein he and Al will get Ling, May, and Lan Fan out of Winry’s bedroom window and then the three of them will re-enter  the house through the front door. Unfortunately, quick thinking isn’t Winry’s strong suit.

“We’ll be right down, Granny!” She says, and Ed is struck by an overwhelming urge to pitch someone, possibly himself, down the flight of stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter came out really well, I think. Winry was a lot more fun to write than I expected and in general this was just a lot of fun. Things can really only get less fun from here for you, though because this is easily the most lighthearted chapter I have planned. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading!


End file.
